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Each month the AAW draws names from its membership roster for prizes, such as tuition, gift certificates, supplies, DVDs, chucks, grinding jigs, and more, all donated by respected sponsors. At year end, the AAW draws a member name to receive a Powermatic 3520B lathe. That winner names a local chapter to receive either a JET 1642 or five JET mini-lathes, donated by Powermatic/JET. View monthly sponsors and past drawing winners.

Current members have a chance to win.

Via a monthly drawing on October 31, 2016, AAW will award a gift certificate donated by Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts to one lucky AAW member. The gift certificate, valued at more than $1,000, covers tuition, meals, and basic housing for a one-week or weekend workshop, and is redeemable through the end of Arrowmont's workshop season 2017. All AAW members will be entered for a chance to win, but to qualify for the drawing your dues must be current. Anyone whose membership is expired or lapsed will miss this special opportunity.

We encourage you to recommend videos to be included in AAW Video Source. Simply send an email to info@aawvideosource.org with a link to the video. It will be reviewed for quality and safety, and, if approved, included in AAW Video Source.

Deadline is October 21

Six candidates are running for the AAW Board of Directors. Members can vote for up to three candidates not later than October 21, 2016.

Mark your calendar for AAW's 31st Annual International Symposium, June 22-25, 2017, at the Kansas City Convention Center, in Kansas City, MO. No other event offers as many opportunities to learn from the world's best. We are pleased to announce that the following extraordinary woodturning talent will demonstrate in Kansas City.

Sam Angelo

Bruce Berger

Dixie Biggs

Trent Bosch

Jason Clark

Jimmy Clewes

Janet Collins

Anthony Harris

Kurt Hertzog

Michael Hosaluk

Michael Kehs

Janice Levi

David Lindow

Rudolph Lopez

Glenn Lucas

Harvey Meyer

Andrew Potocnik

Tania Radda

Richard Raffan

Mark Sanger

Merryll Saylan

Betty Scarpino

Thomas Stegall

Al Stirt

Jason Swanson

Derek Weidman

John Wessels

American Woodturner

Check out the October 2016 issue of American Woodturner, which includes the skill-building project "Turn a Ring Holder" by Bob Rosand, and for more advanced turners, "Basket Illusion Demystified" by Harvey Meyer. Click here to view the current issue online.

Scholarships

AAW will award 28 scholarships to selected AAW chapter members for 2017 woodturning classes at Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, and John C. Campbell Folk School. The AAW Endowment Trust Fund (ETF), in combination with the three schools, provides funds for the scholarships. Consult with your local chapter to discuss details and eligibility. The deadline is December 15, 2016. More information.

Bay Lake Woodturners Convenes Camp SOAR

In July, the Bay Lake Woodturners, Green Bay, WI, hosted Camp SOAR, a summer arts and recreation program for children at the at the Artisan and Business Center. Attendance for the event was nearly 100, which included 50 kids, their chaperones, staff, and volunteers. During the camp, the youth were able to engage in four projects, which included longarm sewing, Gyotaku-style printing, making a sun-catcher, and woodturning! For the woodturning project, the chapter designed and built a special fixture to cut the inside of a bowl (similar to the methods used for hollowing). The kids were focused, controlled, and created lots of shavings. The event was an emotional experience for everyone involved. Afterward, Bay Lake Woodturners hosted a lunch for everyone.

EOG Helps Kickstart Program for At-Risk Students

The Wichita Alternative School/Chester Lewis Academy, Wichita, KS, serves at-risk students with a wide variety of needs, including homelessness and abuse. Hands-on learning is a critical need for these students, yet the woodworking and metals programs had been eliminated due to district financial constraints. So, teacher Janet Sutter applied for and received an Educational Opportunity Grant (EOG) to buy the lathes and tools needed to start the woodturning club at the school. Over the six weeks she ran club, the students made pens and small bowls. When the club ended, it hosted an Open House where parents and staff were invited and each student shared their turnings, the wood selected, the finish chosen, and any stories about experiences learned along the way. The club is up and running again this year with more students than before. In fact, there are so many students that they've had to have them come on alternating nights. Pedro, a junior reported, "I learned...how to be patient, even when you mess up. To be relaxed while you are working... and don't get angry about what you do and what you don't complete."

Apply for a Grant

For 2017, AAW's Educational Opportunity Grant (EOG) program will offer a limited number of financial grants, grants for AAW Symposium registration, and lathe grants. Anyone can apply. To be eligible for a 2017 grant, applications must be received not later than December 31, 2016.Click here to learn more and to apply.

KC Woodturners Spin Tops for Ronald McDonald House

Kansas City, MO, is home to three Ronald McDonald Houses that provide a "home away from home" for out-of- town families of children who are receiving treatment at an area hospital. Several years ago, the Kansas City Woodturners started a program called "The Top Guys" to turn and donate spinning tops for kids at these houses. The chapter regularly fills a collection bucket with tops to be taken to the Ronald McDonald Houses at its open turning sessions. So far this year, the club has already delivered more than 750 tops and anticipates exceeding 1,000 tops by year end. Pictured above is Jerry Darter, "The Top Guys" mover and shaker, and tops deliverer extraordinaire.

Revival for PR Woodturners

The Association of Woodturners of Puerto Rico, the first Spanish-speaking chapter of the AAW, held a special meeting at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras campus, in San Juan, on August 20, 2016. Just six months after the chapter's initiation, the new chapter board presented its members with a detailed report outlining the goals achieved, networking strategies, budget, inventory, statutes, collective and individual achievements of members, future projects, and a survey. Additionally, the chapter's mission, vision, goals, and special committees were established. The members' reactions to the presentation, combined with the woodturning cup demonstration by Orlando Ortiz (whose piece will be the first in the chapter's collection), the exhibition of works, critique session, and raffle, mark a new revival for the Association of Woodturners of Puerto Rico.

Beautiful Boxes for BOC from Glendale Chapter

In September, the Glendale Woodturners Guild, La Crescenta, CA, created and donated a wide variety of remarkable woodturned boxes to Beads of Courage (BOC). BOC is an innovative, arts-in-medicine supportive care program to transform the treatment experience for children coping with serious illness.

See yourself and your club in Keep Turning!

Attend a great woodturning event? Receive recognition? Participate in an awesome project? Tell us how you and/or your club are spreading the art, craft, and love of woodturning. If you have a story and/or photos you would like to share in the Keep Turning newsletter, please submit the information to linda@woodturner.org.

Make the most of your membership!

Membership in the AAW is much more than just a subscription to the American Woodturner journal. We've developed a two-page summary of publications and services available to you as an AAW member. Check it out online.

POP Artist Showcase

Each year the Professional Outreach Program (POP) showcases two wood artists at the AAW Annual International Symposium. They are either experienced artists who have made significant contributions to the woodturning field but have not received appropriate recognition - or emerging artists who have the potential for making significant contributions to the field. The two selected artists each give two demonstrations and receive free Symposium registration plus a small honorarium. Their work is displayed prominently in the Instant Gallery. Applications will be juried by the POP committee. The deadline is December 1, 2016.Click here to apply.

Free DVD: Turning Projects From Scrap with Bob Rosand, with book sets ordered through November 30, 2016.